The Manchester City youngster has been the centre of attention in Glasgow and Rome ahead of the closing of the transfer window.

Foden, one of the bright sparks of England’s otherwise disappointing showing at the Under-21 European Championship during the summer, is finding it difficult to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s first-team.

After a breakout campaign that saw him make 26 appearances in all competitions to help City secure a historic domestic treble last year, Foden has yet to start under Spaniard this season.

So far, he has been restricted to just two brief cameos from the bench, which have come during the Community Shield win over Liverpool and on the opening weekend of the season at West Ham .

And that has prompted late requests from Steven Gerrard and Paolo Fonseca to see if they can prise the youngster away from the Etihad.

Phil Foden is yet to start for Manchester City this season (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

But Guardiola admitted during the build-up to yesterday’s game at Brighton that he had knocked back attempts to take Foden.

And it can be revealed that Rangers and Roma were two of the clubs interested in him.

However, Manchester City’s boss has long made it clear that he sees Foden’s future very much at the Etihad and ruled out any hopes that Premier League clubs had of taking him on loan within days of last season being concluded.

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And it appears that stance still holds good after he knocked back the two suitors this week.

During City's pre-season preparations, Guardiola described the 19-year-old as the "most talented" player he has worked with but recently admitted he would like to see him be more assertive in his pursuit of first-team opportunities.

"He is a shy guy," Guardiola said ahead of Saturday's emphatic 4-0 win over Brighton.